Military bases, VA medical centers, national parks, Army Corps of Engineers lakes and federal buildings all buy grounds maintenance: mowing, trimming, edging, leaf removal, shrub and tree care, weed control and sometimes snow removal. Many jobs are small, set aside for small businesses and decided mostly on price.
Free tool: Run your own numbers in the free lawn mowing bid calculator.
1. Know your code
Most grounds work is NAICS 561730, Landscaping Services. Check your size against the SBA size standard before bidding a set-aside. Herbicide and weed-control work often requires a state pesticide applicator license. See open jobs on our landscaping and grounds contracts list.
2. Read the work statement for these things
- Areas and acreage: usually split into zones with different service levels, such as improved, semi-improved and unimproved grounds.
- Frequencies: mowing cycles per month or season, mowing height, trimming and edging with every mow, leaf removal, pruning.
- Season: the growing season dates for that location, and whether work stops in winter.
- Extras: fertilizing, aeration, mulching, irrigation repair, herbicide, debris removal, and any snow removal line items.
- Site visit: walk the site if you can. Slopes, obstacles and drainage change your production rate.
3. Price labor from the Service Contract Act wage determination
Federal service contracts over $2,500 are covered by the Service Contract Act. The attached wage determination lists the minimum wage for grounds titles (for example groundskeeper, grounds maintenance laborer, tractor operator), plus a health and welfare amount per hour, paid vacation and holidays. Price every hour from it.
4. Worked example: mowing 40 acres
The numbers below are illustrative only. Use your solicitation's wage determination and your real costs.
| Area | 40 acres of improved grounds, mowed and trimmed weekly for a 30-week season |
|---|---|
| Production rate | Example: 2.5 acres per hour mowing with a commercial zero-turn, plus 0.5 crew-hours of trimming per acre |
| Hours per cycle | 40 ÷ 2.5 = 16 mowing hours + 20 trimming hours = 36 hours |
| Hours per season | 36 × 30 = 1,080 hours |
| Labor cost per hour | Example: $18.00 wage + $5.00 H&W + $1.80 vacation and holidays + $2.97 taxes and comp = $27.77 |
| Labor per season | 1,080 × $27.77 = $29,992 |
| Equipment and fuel | Example: $12 per mowing hour + $3 per trimming hour = $252 per cycle, $7,560 per season |
| Overhead and profit | Example: 15% = $5,633 |
| Price per season | About $43,185, roughly $36 per acre per mow |
Price each line item the way the schedule asks: per cycle, per acre, per month or per season. Add option years with expected wage increases.
Common mistakes
- Using a production rate from flat commercial lawns on hilly or obstacle-heavy sites.
- Forgetting trimming, edging and blowing clippings, which often take more time than mowing.
- Pricing below the wage determination or skipping health and welfare.
- No pesticide license for herbicide work.
- Missing amendments that change acreage or frequencies.
Frequently asked questions
What NAICS code is used for federal landscaping contracts?
Mostly NAICS 561730, Landscaping Services.
How do you price a government grounds maintenance contract?
Turn acreage and frequencies into labor hours with realistic production rates, cost those hours from the Service Contract Act wage determination, add equipment, fuel, materials, overhead and profit, then price each line item the way the schedule asks.
Do I need a license for federal weed control work?
Usually yes: a state pesticide applicator license for the state where the work is done, as required by the solicitation.
Want it done for you?
Seal the Bid prepares the full package, including the pricing sheet built from the wage determination, from $495. You set the price, sign and submit. See open grounds contracts or see the contracts that fit you.